BRUNO FERNANDES has revealed he’ll sign a new contract at Manchester United – but only if Paul Pogba does too.
However, that might not be quite as good news as fans would have first thought.
After all, according to the stats, United are better all over the pitch when at least one of them is NOT playing.
On Thursday, SunSport revealed Fernandes sees Pogba’s future as key to the Red Devils closing the gap to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Pogba’s current deal is up at the end of next season, in June 2021, after United triggered a one-year extension in October.
But the club either want the 28-year-old on new terms or will look to sell him this summer, rather than let him become a free agent.
Fernandes, 26, is watching the situation carefully with the club also aiming to extend his current deal after his incredible impact since joining in January 2020.
In March, SunSport revealed United had approached Fernandes over a new double-your-money five-year contract worth £200,000 a week.
But he could now wait to see how the club deal with Pogba’s situation.
And if the two do stay together, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have a real job on his hands finding a way to get the two working together on the pitch.
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According to the statistics, United are better in attack and defence – as well as boasting a far superior win-rate – when at least one of Pogba and Fernandes is on the bench.
Since Fernandes joined in a £55million move from Sporting Lisbon last winter, United have played 75 times.
Of those games, 47 have seen Pogba and Fernandes play together – with United averaging 1.8 goals scored and 1.2 goals conceded per game for a win-rate of 57 per cent.
In the 28 matches where at least one has been absent, the club have averaged 2.4 goals scored and 0.4 goals conceded for a win-rate of 71 per cent.
Incredibly, United have NEVER lost when at least one of Fernandes and Pogba have been missing since the Portuguese star’s arrival, compared to 11 defeats together.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
